


Together

by skywalkersamidala



Category: I Medici | Medici: Masters of Florence (TV)
Genre: Accidental Baby Acquisition, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Established Relationship, Family, Fluff, M/M, history who? don't know her
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-27
Updated: 2019-03-27
Packaged: 2019-12-25 12:28:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18261302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skywalkersamidala/pseuds/skywalkersamidala
Summary: “I was just about to return to the bank,” Francesco said, glancing up at him. “I’m only looking for those papers you drew up about—what is that?”Lorenzo was holding a small bundle in his arms that looked suspiciously like— “A baby,” Lorenzo said nonchalantly, as if waltzing into the house with some stranger’s baby was a perfectly normal thing to do.





	Together

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sol_Invictus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sol_Invictus/gifts).



Francesco frowned as he shuffled through the papers on Lorenzo’s desk. Lorenzo was surprisingly disorganized for someone so successful. Then again, Lorenzo always insisted that he did have an organizational system which worked perfectly well for him, thank you very much. It was only that Francesco still hadn’t managed to figure out what that system was.

“Oh, good, I was hoping you were home,” came Lorenzo’s voice from the doorway.

“I was just about to return to the bank,” Francesco said, glancing up at him. “I’m only looking for those papers you drew up about— _what_ is that?”

Lorenzo was holding a small bundle in his arms that looked suspiciously like— “A baby,” Lorenzo said nonchalantly, as if waltzing into the house with some stranger’s baby was a perfectly normal thing to do. Because even from this distance Francesco could tell it _was_ a stranger’s baby; it was clearly smaller than Bianca and Guglielmo’s son, who was six months old now.

Francesco stared at him. “Whose baby?”

“I don’t know,” Lorenzo said. “I found her on the street.”

“What?”

“Her parents must have exposed her.” Lorenzo bounced the baby up and down in his arms. “Poor little thing. I couldn’t just leave her there.”

Francesco sighed and rubbed his temples. “You can’t go around stealing babies off the street, Lorenzo.”

“I didn’t _steal_ her, I rescued her!” Lorenzo said indignantly. “It’s the middle of winter, if she’d been left outside overnight tonight she would have frozen to death. And look at how tiny she is, I don’t think she’s more than a few weeks old…”

Despite himself, Francesco stood and moved closer for a better look. Indeed, the baby _was_ very small and looked almost like a newborn. Right now she was asleep, snuggled against Lorenzo’s chest and looking perfectly content. Lorenzo leaned down and planted a kiss on her forehead, smiling broadly at her.

The sight of his lover cuddling a baby like this was doing all sorts of things to Francesco’s heart, but he did his best to sound stern when he said, “Don’t go getting attached, we’ll have to give her back.”

“Give her back? Her parents clearly don’t want her,” Lorenzo pointed out.

“Well, then—then we’ll take her to a convent and they’ll raise her there,” Francesco said.

“I _suppose…_ but I thought we could keep her.”

 _“What?”_ Francesco spluttered. “Are you _mad?”_

“On the contrary, I thought it was a rather clever idea,” Lorenzo said. “She needs a family, and we can provide that. She’ll have not one, but _two_ fathers—no mother, I suppose, but a grandmother and an aunt, at least—and uncles and a cousin and—”

“Now, just wait one moment—”

But then they were interrupted by Lucrezia popping her head into the room. “Lorenzo, do you have a minute?”

“Yes, all right,” Lorenzo said. “Here, Francesco, you take her.” And before Francesco could react, Lorenzo was dumping the baby into his arms. “Make sure she stays warm, I don’t think she was outside for that long but it’s better to be safe.”

“Wait, Lorenzo—” Francesco protested, hastily adjusting his grip so he wouldn’t drop her.

“I’ll only be a moment!” Lorenzo called over his shoulder as he followed Lucrezia out of the room.

“Whose baby is that?” Francesco heard Lucrezia say, but their voices faded out of earshot as Lorenzo started to respond.

Francesco looked uncertainly down at the baby. Being moved around had woken her, and she blinked up at him with wide brown eyes. “Hello,” Francesco said awkwardly.

She screwed her face up in displeasure and took a big breath, then started wailing.

Francesco cursed under his breath and frantically tried to think of all the times he’d seen Bianca or Guglielmo soothing little Antonio when he cried. He started gently rocking her in his arms, to no avail. “There, there,” he said lamely.

Then he remembered what Lorenzo had said as he was leaving; perhaps she was cold? Francesco held her against his chest, keeping her close to his own warmth, and patted her comfortingly on the back. To his relief, after a few minutes that calmed her down from enraged wailing to only quiet little sobs and hiccups.

“You must be hungry,” he realized a while later. “There’s nothing I can do about that, though…I wonder how long since anyone’s fed you?” He paused, as if waiting for a response, but of course none came. “Ah, well. Let me go and find your aunt Bianca, and maybe she can—”

“Did you just say ‘aunt Bianca’?”

Francesco jerked his head up and saw Bianca herself in the doorway with Lorenzo beside her, both grinning at him. “I certainly did not,” he said defensively. “You must have misheard.”

“Oh, no, he definitely said it,” Lorenzo said.

Francesco glared at the pair of them. “I think she’s hungry,” he said stiffly as they both stifled laughter.

“Let me take her,” Bianca said, and Francesco passed her over.

“You. Outside,” he said to Lorenzo, grabbing his arm and tugging him out into the corridor. “We need to talk about this.”

“What’s there to talk about? You seemed to be getting along well,” Lorenzo said, looking pleased.

Francesco avoided responding to that point and instead said, “Well, we can’t keep her, Lorenzo.”

“Why not?”

“How are we supposed to feed her, for one thing?”

“I already explained everything to Bianca and she said she’d be happy to nurse her along with Antonio. Or we could hire a wet-nurse if we wanted.”

“And how will we explain the situation to people?”

Lorenzo shrugged. “I’ll make her my ward, and then name you as her godfather,” he said. “That sounds respectable enough, doesn’t it? But in private we can both consider ourselves her fathers and raise her together.”

Francesco blinked rapidly, his eyes suddenly feeling wet. “Or she can be _your_ ward and _I’ll_ be her godfather if you’d rather,” Lorenzo added, seeming to think his first suggestion had upset him.

“No, it isn’t that, it’s—” Francesco cleared his throat. “You would actually wish to raise a child with me?”

“Of course I would,” Lorenzo said. “I’ve dreamed of doing so but never thought it possible. But now…it feels as if God sent her to us, as if He put her in my path this morning on purpose.”

Francesco felt a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “Perhaps.”

“Do _you_ want to raise a child?”

“Always,” Francesco said softly. “I always wanted to have children of my own.” He had thought that was something he’d given up when he’d chosen to be with Lorenzo and remain unmarried, had thought he’d have to content himself with being an uncle to Guglielmo’s children.

But maybe not.

Lorenzo rested his hand on his cheek, smiling at him. “Just imagine it,” he said. “Raising our daughter together, seeing her first steps, hearing her first words…fending off multitudes of suitors in fifteen years’ time…”

Francesco laughed. “But people will talk,” he said next, circling back to that perpetual concern of his. “They already think it’s odd that I live here.” After breaking fully with Jacopo he had gone to live with the Medici, ostensibly to be close to his brother, though that wasn’t the _real_ reason. And more than once Francesco had heard mutters that he and Lorenzo did seem _awfully_ close, didn’t they?

But Lorenzo had never paid any mind to such rumors. “Let them talk,” he said carelessly. “I love you and I will love our daughter, and what other people might say doesn’t matter to me.”

More tears welled up in Francesco’s eyes, and his smile widened. Lorenzo _had_ always been good at taking in those who were unloved by their own families and welcoming them into his own, at overwhelming them with more love and affection than they’d ever known before. Francesco himself was living proof of that.

“All right,” he said. “We can keep her for a little while to see how it goes.”

Lorenzo beamed at him and threw his arms around him, and then he was kissing him and Francesco was kissing him back and they were both smiling too much to kiss properly, but neither of them cared. A minute later they were interrupted by Bianca’s voice saying, “So you’ve convinced him, then?”

Francesco hastily stepped back and turned to see Bianca with the baby, and he blushed. Lorenzo’s family knew what was between them and didn’t mind, but still, Francesco was always embarrassed when anyone saw them being affectionate.

Lorenzo, meanwhile, had no such qualms. “I have indeed,” he said happily, kissing Francesco on the cheek. “You can officially consider yourself an aunt.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful!” Bianca said, smiling at them. “Guglielmo will be thrilled, he’s been saying how nice it would be if Antonio had cousins.” She gave the baby a kiss and held her out to Lorenzo, who eagerly took her. “I fed her and she seems all right now, but let me know if you need help with anything. I’d like to think I’m an expert on babies by now.”

Lorenzo chuckled. “We will. Thank you, Bianca.”

“What’s her name?” Bianca asked.

Lorenzo furrowed his brow thoughtfully and stared down at the baby for a moment before looking back to Francesco. “What do you think?” he said.

Francesco studied her carefully, taking in her precious little face… “Viola,” he blurted out.

“Viola,” Lorenzo repeated with a smile. “It’s perfect.”

Bianca agreed, and then she left to find Guglielmo to share the news. “And tell Mother too if you see her,” Lorenzo called after her.

“I will!”

“You didn’t tell her already?” Francesco said.

“I explained the situation, but I wasn’t sure yet that you’d want to keep her and I didn’t want to get my mother’s hopes up,” Lorenzo said. “You know how much she dotes on Antonio, she’ll be very excited to have another grandchild to spoil.”

“Mmm. What did she want with you anyway?”

“Oh, she was just again trying to convince me to convince Giuliano to make an advantageous marriage. I pointed out that every time I try, Giuliano just calls me a hypocrite. And rightfully so.”

Francesco snickered a little. “Indeed. May I hold Viola again?” he said, testing the name out.

“Of course,” Lorenzo said, passing her over.

Francesco settled her in his arms, noticing in amusement that she still looked awfully sulky, though at least she wasn’t crying. “She’s a fussy little thing, isn’t she?”

“She reminds me of you, actually,” Lorenzo said.

“Does she?”

“Yes. Always frowning, but irresistibly sweet regardless.”

Francesco scoffed. “I’m not _sweet.”_

“Really? _That’s_ the point you want to counter?”

“Well, I have a reputation to maintain.”

Lorenzo laughed and wrapped his arms around his waist from behind, resting his chin on his shoulder and gazing down at Viola. “Maintain it, then,” he said. “I think I like being the only person to know how sweet you really are.”

Viola let out a little yawn, which Francesco was fairly certain was the most adorable thing he had ever seen. He carefully shifted her into one arm so that he could trace his finger along her face with his free hand, marveling at how _small_ she was.

She was so innocent, so perfect. And now Francesco was responsible for caring for her. “What if I’m not a good father?” he said quietly. After all, he wasn’t like Lorenzo. He didn’t know how to express affection, didn’t know how to tell people he loved them.

But then Viola’s tiny hand wrapped around his finger, and he found himself starting to smile again. “Don’t be ridiculous,” Lorenzo said. “See? She loves you already. You’ll be a wonderful father.”

“Aren’t you scared?” Francesco said. “An hour ago we were going about our lives as normal, and now we suddenly have this—this whole new little person to care for.”

“Of course I’m scared,” Lorenzo said wryly. “But I have you, and we’ll do this together. Just like we do everything.”

“Together,” Francesco echoed, his heart lifting and his anxieties melting away. “Yes, we will.”


End file.
